Thirty-one recent graduates from the College of the Holy Cross have dedicated themselves to a year of service with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps (JVC) and the Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest, making Holy Cross first in the nation for the most Jesuit Volunteers among colleges and universities throughout the country. Over the course of the year, the volunteers will serve hundreds of thousands of people while addressing issues such as hunger and homelessness, poverty, domestic violence, end-of-life care, mental health, and food justice. JVC has recruited 18 volunteers from Holy Cross and JVC Northwest, which operates independently, recruited an additional 13 volunteers. Holy Cross graduates have a history of volunteering with these programs: in 2013, 11 volunteers joined JVC and three joined JVC Northwest; while in 2012, 14 volunteers joined JVC and five joined JVC Northwest.
"The number of graduates serving in post graduate service programs such as the Jesuit Volunteer Corps is an important indicator of the seriousness with which our students wrestle with important questions in our mission statement, such as, ‘What are our special responsibilities to the world's poor and powerless?’” says Marybeth Kearns-Barrett, director of the chaplains’ office. “They demonstrate a significant way in which Holy Cross graduates seek to embody the Jesuit commitment to the service of faith and the promotion of justice. While programs such as these are not the only way graduates live out these commitments, post grad volunteers serve as an important bellwether and witness for the wider Holy Cross community."
Rooted in the core values of social and ecological justice, simple living, community, and spirituality, the JVC and JVC Northwest programs give young men and women the chance to work full-time for justice and peace. Participants serve for one or two years, during which time they live among the poor and marginalized, and strive for social justice within these environments.
Jesuit volunteers work at schools, health clinics, legal clinics, parishes, domestic violence shelters and non-profit organizations in the United States and abroad. Those working in the Northwest also teach in schools on Native American reservations.
Holy Cross graduates are among 314 Jesuit volunteers serving in 60 communities across the world. There are 147 Jesuit volunteers serving in 24 locations throughout the five states of the Northwest (Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington).
The following Holy Cross graduates are currently serving as Jesuit volunteers:
- Gabriella Betances ’14 - Make the Road in Brooklyn, N.Y.
- Katrina Burns ’14 - Colegio Roberto Clemente - Fe y Alegría in Ciudad Sandino, Nicaragua
- Aidan Camas ’14 – St. Joseph the Worker in Phoenix, Ariz.
- Katie Camp ’13 - Mental Health Advocacy Project, Law Foundation of Silicon Valley in San Jose, Calif.
- Julia Cowan ’14 – St. Anthony Foundation in San Francisco, Calif.
- Grace Cunningham ’14 - L'Arche Syracuse in Syracuse, N.Y.
- Kathryn DeRobertis ’14 - Catholic Charities of Raleigh, Catholic Parish Outreach Food Pantry in Raleigh, N.C.
- Emily Ford ’14 - Public Justice Center in Baltimore, Md.
- Lauren Hammer ’14 - Hogar de Cristo & Jesus Obrero Parish in Santiago, Chile
- Lindsay MacPhail ’14 - Murder Victims' Families for Reconciliation in Raleigh, N.C.
- Samuel McGrath ’14 -Nativity Prep Academy in San Diego, Calif.
- Sean O'Neill ’14 - The Chrysalis Center in Los Angeles, Calif.
- James D. Power V ’14 - Loaves & Fishes/Mustard Seed School in Sacramento, Calif.
- Gavin Reidy ’14 - Bishop Ward High School in Kansas City, Mo.
- Anthony Russo ’14 - Civicorps Academy in Berkeley, Calif.
- Barbara Silva ’14 - Loyola High School in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
- Matthew Straface ’14 - The Chrysalis Center in Los Angeles, Calif.
- Conor Sullivan ’14 - Cristo Rey Twin Cities in Minneapolis, Minn.
The following graduates serve as Jesuit volunteers in the Northwest:
- Maria Alvarez-Lugo ’14 - Catholic Charities of Oregon, Project UNICA in Gresham, Ore.
- Sara Bovat ’14 - L'Arche Spokane in Spokane, Wash.
- Thomas Campbell ’14 - Catholic Charities of Spokane, Childbirth and Parenting Assistance, in Spokane, Wash.
- Kevin Carroll ’10 - Portland OIC /Rosemary Anderson High School, Transitions Program in Portland, Ore.
- Jake Fahey ’14 - St. Labre Indian School, St. Charles Indian Catholic Mission in Billings, Mont.
- Amber Jones ’14 -Tundra Women's Coalition in Bethel, Alaska
- Hannah McCormick ’14 - Northwest Justice Project in Wenatchee, Wash.
- Marielle McKenna ’14 - St. Francis House of Odell in Hood River, Ore.
- Catherine Morrison ’14 - St. Labre Indian School, Pretty Eagle Catholic Academy in St. Xavier, Mont.
- David Quigley ’14 - Covenant House Alaska, Youth Engagement Center in Anchorage, Alaska
- Alexandra Schultz ’13 - Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery in Spokane, Wash.
- Elizabeth Tobey ’14 -YWCA of Alaska, Women's Wellness & Youth Empowerment in Anchorage, Alaska
- Chris Won ’14 - Yaakoosge Daakahidi Alternative High School in Juneau, Alaska
